1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to computer network security.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Computer networks are used to transmit data between computers in a seamless manner. A user can send a file or an email with an attachment to another user connected to the network. In many instances, this data transfer occurs over the Internet. Often, the content may contain sensitive information (i.e., business plans, financial data, product drawings, trade secrets, etc. . . . ) that should not be sent to the wrong recipient.
The owners of the data have an interest in preventing the leakage of sensitive data over computer networks. Currently, there are methods for analyzing and classifying data being sent over the network. These methods determine the type of data and prevent the dissemination of data classified as being protected. In this regard, these methods classify the data and apply a protection/transmission policy depending on the type of data. For example, a policy might forbid the transmission of any business information containing social security numbers.
However, a policy just based on the type of data may not provide the level of leakage prevention that is needed. For example, sometimes a company might want to limit the transmission of data to certain users or destinations. The analysis of the data itself cannot provide this level of classification and a reliable policy cannot be developed.